


s 

JSf 



' 



REMARKS 



07 



HON. J. SHERMAN, OF OHIO, 



ON THB 



ORGANIZATION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 






DELIVERED ON' THE 16TH OF JANUARY, 18o». 



WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE. 
1856. 



t 



43^ 



Q 5 



. O 



ORGANIZATION OF THE HOUSE. 



The question was upon the adoption of the | 
following resolution, offered by Mr. Thorington, 
of Iowa: 

;,', ■ '. Thai Lewis D. Campbeli be declared the 
Speafc r of the Home of Representatives for thfe Thirty 
, i |j ites. 

Mr. SHERMAN (when his name was called) 
said: The proposition of the gentleman from 
towa places me in a \ ry embarrassing situation, 
fjp to this time I have never had any doubt as. 
to how to cast my vote, but now 1 confess, in all 
candor, that I do hesitate. The result of my I 
reflection is to vote for this resolution. In doing 
so 1 a paratei, to some extent, from many of my 
own ■ .and from many of my frie 

1 desire, therefore, to state the reasons why I shall 
so Vote. For twenty-three times I voted for Lewis 
D. Campbell, of Ohio. It was the desire of the 
people of* my district, and of the State which I in 
part represent, that Mr. Campbkll should be in- 
vested with the high honor of presiding over the 
delibi rations of this House. I voted for him in 
s;ood faith, and desired his election. For ninety- 
one times I have voted for the distinguished gen- 
tleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. B inks.] 1 have 
i ise voted for him in good faith, desiring on 
each ballot to secure his election. . 

But now, without the knowledg'e of my dis- 
tinguished colleague', and without consulting, so 
far as 1 know, any of the Represenl ttives of the 
State of Ohio, the gentleman from Iowa offers 
this resolution. If he belohgea to either of the 
ies in this House who do not b with us 

I n; ; hi 4to divide and dis- 

tract us; but 1 am satisfie 1 thai 
purpose of that gentleman. He is a friend, true 
to the principle which unites as, and his object 
wasCsimplyto show to the House and the country, 
that we w< re willing to orga dz ■ bj tin el 
of any reliable anti-Nebraska man a 
Such certainly is my desire, and therefore I shall 
vote for th.' resolution. 

Here, sir, I might end this explan 
the courtesy of 1 many dtii mbi i 

been allowed to express their opinion upon th" 
question seriousl; ; our constitu 

— who is responsible for our failure to ( 
Waiving for til the duty which, in my 

judgment, requires every one of us to vote for 
"the plurality rule, whoever it may elect, I d 



to say candidly that 1 think tie 1 gri at rcsoonsi- 
bility rests upon those gentlemen who, professing 
to lie, and no doubt being, opposed to the repeal 
of the Missouri compromise, and , : with 

us in our anti-Nebraska . have yet 

separated ''rm^ us, and have unifot I for 

lemen who have been voting either for .Mr. 
Campbell or Mr. Banks. 

Mr. DUNN. Will the gentleman allow rac to 
interrupt him ? 

Mr. SHERMAN. Yes, if the gentleman will 
not take much of my tine-. 

Mr. DUNN. 1 have' to state to the gentleman 
from Ohio and to the House, and, adopting the 
common parlance here, "to the country," that I 
>1 ans werable to the gent! man, nor to this- 
House, nor to any one outside of my own district, 
for any votes which I may give here for Speaker. 
There, sir, I can make this matter satisfactory; 
I can make it satisfactory upon the record I now 
hold in my hand. I will beheld to no responsi- 
bility here, and I will submit to no reflections on 
my - en-.-;" here. 
Mr. SHERMAN. The gentleman from Indiana 
i dy could nol he\ .1 that I intended 

to cast any personal reflection upon him; but the 
votes of tie 1 little party with which hi' acts are 
proper subjects for discussion. The responsi- 
bility for the org tnization of this Hi jus.' is a public 
matter. The people of the court /v tin- Looking 
to us and fixing'the responsibility here and there. 
1 h ive a right to my own judgment as to where 
ponsibility rests, and 1 will express it 
freely and frankly. Having do ■. I say this, 
i i which those gentlemen who 
ing separately from us can justify 
rig to this lions i 

why .Mr. Banks is not fit to occupy that 
chair. If lie j idow of 3U t- 

picion upon him — if they can show that ho has 
..I- promisi 9 m order ti 
ttion — u they can |ustly cloud him with 
hadowof d 
to leave him-. — ay, if they will give to tin- House 
any r i on th « ould satis \ men on 

that Mr. Banks is unfit for that 
'. I will leave him, and vote f 
man from Indiana, or for any' it since 

they have failed to give any such reason, I have 
f It myselfbound u il honestly to vote 



for the distinguished gentleman from Massachu- 
setts. If this resolution does not pass, I shall 
continue so to vote hereafter. 

I do not pin my faith to anywuwi- lam an inde- 
pendent Representative here , and I will vote for any 
one of a dozen — a}', of a score of those who have 
been acting with me upon this side of the House. 
I will vote for no supporter of this Administra- 
tion. I will not vote for the gentleman from Penn- 
sylvania, [Mr. Fuller.] If the sorry alternative 
should be presented to me, I would rather vote 
for the gentleman from Illinois, [Mr. Richard- 
son,] because we are told that the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania represents an anti-Nebraska 
constituency, and was elected, to some extent, 
upon that principle, and the memory of a confid- 
ing people, whose sentiments he does not express, 
rises up in judgment against him. 

Mr. FULLER, of Pennsylvania. As the charge 
now made by the gentleman from Ohio has been 
variously repeated, I will state a single fact: At 
the same election when I was returned a member 
of this House, ex-Governor Bigler, now United 
States Senator from Pennsylvania, was a candi- 
date for the office of Governor, standing upon the 
same platform with my competitor, addressing 
the people from the same stand, and advocating 
substantially the same measures. He carried the 
district by a handsome majority; I was elected 
by over two thousand majority. I would not 
have alluded to this fact but to correct a wrong 
impression, and to show that it was not the anti- 
Nebraska issue which determined that election. 
It is but just to say, that a strong feeling existed 
in my district adverse to the repeal of the Mis- 
souri compromise; but I feel assured that I am 
now representing the wishes of a large majority 
of my constituents in resisting further agitation. 
Mr. SHERMAN. I will take the ge ntleman 's 
declaration as true, as no doubt it is: but he has 
declared upon this floor, that, if he had been a 
member of the last Congress, he would have 
voted against the repeal of the Missouri compro- 
mise as an unwise and useless violation of public 
faith; and yet he tells us this paradox, that now, 
if he had the power, he would not reinstate that 
prohibition of slavery in the Territory north and 
west of Missouri. 

Mr. HOUSTON. He said that he would doit. 
Mr. SHERMAN. No, sir, 1 think he went 
far beyond that the other day. His position, at 
any rate, is known to the House and the country. 
He goes far beyond the gentleman from Illinois, 
and now tells us that Congress has no power to 
prohibit slavery in the Territories — and that the 
people who inhabit them can only do it when tin y 
are forming a State government. Whatever his 
constituents may say, an almost universal public 
opinion in the northern States has condemned 
him. A majority of his own friends and col- 
leagues, who supported him at the commence m< nl 
of the session. di rted him win n he d< fined his 
position; and now he is voted for by the very few 
anti-slavery men from the free Slates who are 
willing to bow with submission to an acknowl- 
edged wrong. 

Sir, however the fear of agitation may trouble 
the gentleman from Pennsylvania, it will not deter 
us from insisting upon the prohibition of slavi ry 
north and wist of Missouri. Nothing less than 
that will satisfy the country; and if it is not done, 



as it probably will not be, we will maintain our 
position of resisting the admission of Kansas as 
a slave State, under ail possible circumstances. 

The CLERK. The gentleman's time has ex- 
pired. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I vote ay. 
In the debate which followed the vote on the 
foregoing resolution, 

Mr. DUNN said: I wish to make another 
remark to some gentlemen upon this floor. Sev- 
eral gentlemen have announced this morning to 
the country — because it is the country which is 
interested in all these matters — that the whole 
responsibility of this want of organization rested 
upon those here who, professing to be anti-Nebras- 
ka men, would not give their support to the gen- 
tleman from Massachusetts, [Mr. Banks.] Let 
me tell those gentlemen, I am not only a professor 
of anti-Nebraskaism, but one fully in the faith 
and practice, and that I am almost as old upon 
that subject as some who are the most noisy and 
stmmy here now. Sir, I will not yield one inch 
from the front line of those who claim to be the 
old soldiers, or the neophytes, in this army, and 
when you, gentlemen, one or all of you, under- 
take to read me from the church, I imagine, before 
this trial is through, the church will be ready to 
turn you out. That is all I have to say upon 
that subject, save this: I do not permit any one 
of you to keep my judgment, my conscience, my 
politics, or my honor; nor will you control my 
vote upon any subject here against my own sense 
of right. They are in my own care, and I shall, 
in all cases, conform to what I regard just and 
proper. 

In reply to a question put by Mr. Giddings, of 
Ohio, 

Mr. DUNN resumed. I wish only to say to 
the gentleman from Ohio, as he has stated, that I 
came to the caucus, as he calls it, in pursuance 
of a call signed by myself and some others, on 
the occasion of the " informal meeting" of which 
he speaks — a call which some other gentlemen 
■I to sign; but. instead of finding a full meet- 
ing I found but a partial meeting; and the gee tie - 
men who were there I found to be simply pre- 
pai (1 — as seemed necessary in the predicament 
of men who could not help themselves — to regis- 
ter the edict-of those who stayed away. There 
was no liberty of choice given them; their posi- 
tion was ridiculous. I was unwilling to submit 
as a slave to any such thing; and, sir, I never 
will. But I have said enough on this point here- 
tofore, and will not repeat it. I am not here to 
give reasons for my course, but simply to repeat 
that no one here hasjany right to call my vote in 
question. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I would state that I did 
not attend the meeting. spoken of; but if the gen- 
tleman [Mr. Dunn] thinks that even now he can 
give me any reason why, as an honorable man, 
1 should withdraw my vote from Mr. Baxks, I 
would like to know it, and I now desire that he 
shall give it. Imputations have been thrown out 
on this floor long enough; and I now say that, 
if a charge can be proved against the candidate 
for whom I am voting which can reflect any dis- 
honor upon him, I shall abandon him; but if 
the imputations thrown out against him cannot 
be sustained by a direct charge, then they will 
only bind me to him with links of steel, and I 



will never abandon him. So I would; in all kind- desire his election should choose their own time 
noss and in all courtesy, ask the gentleman from to press his claims. But suppose that this request 
Indiana, for whom I have high ri spect, to let us 



have these charges and these proofs. [Here ti 
hammer fell.] 

Mr. DUNN resumed the floor, but wr.s re- 
minded by the Clerk thai his time had expired'. 
[Cries of" Let him go on!"] 

The CLERK. If there lie no objection, the 
gentleman from Indiana will proceed, 

Mr. DUNN. I may take this occasion to make 
an inquiry of the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. 

Sherman,] as to a fa< t w hich has I .i n ported. 

If it is incorrect, he cannot object that I give him 



the friends of Mr. Banks was wrong, must 
it be followed by He' grave con: iquences that 
■I? I submit this question to the candor 
of any man. 

on has been urged, — more plaus- 

:- : :. p ,i id that is, that Mr. Banks and hia 

friends w< re opposed to a caucus. Now, I say, 

o f the original frii ; of my honorable 

, .!' ui from Ohio, [Mr. < ivm i ,] sofaras 
my knowli dire extends, he, as one of the candi- 
dates, was not in favor of a cat 

Mr. CAMPBELL, (interrupting.) When I 



an opportunity to-set it right; and that is, whether came to Washington, at the i tent of 



he defeated Ins predecessor on this floor for the 
seat that he now occupies, among others, for the 
reason that he gave the very sain ! vote on the 
Kansas and Nebraska bill on account of which 
I make some objections to Mr. Banks? It may 
be useful to the public to know just what have 
been the views "f gentlemen and of tin ir constitu- 
ents in regard to that vote, before the zeal here 
to accomplish c rtain ends had sanctified all the 
delinquencies of the past. 

Mr. SHERMAN. When the gentleman is 
through with his explanations, I will answi r him 



thi ion, I confii I m al days 

it] h tel. I was called upon by various mem- 
bers who were oj po d to >'■ ■ Ni bra ka bill. 
Sum,' of them, who had been mei ibers of the 
Democratic party, said to me, that they would 
prefer to vote for a candidate for Speaker who 
had not a caucus nomination; that a caucus nom- 
ination would be a weight upon themathome. 
ids from tb Northwest who called upon 
-red me, if we went into a caucus, I 
robably rec< ive the nomination upon the 
first ballot. I said to them 1 uVsircd that no 



upon that point, as well as upon others which he course should be pursued, beneficial to nrn 

which would tend to prejudice any anti-N 
ka member before his constituents. I desired 
them to take a course by which to asi ertain who 
was the stron t, id, if they found if ne- 

cessary to resort to a caucus in order to ascertain 
that, J" was content to leavi the matter entirely 
with them. I made no serious opposition to a 
caucus, further than simply to say there < 
those who said they would prefer to cast their 
.bran anti-Nebr sr without the 

dity of acaucusli i I said further, 

that all 'I desired for myself was, that it should 
be ascerl ' ; " d in some fair and honesl way who 
could command, at. the outset, the greatest vote 
u] ,i this question, let me know the result, and 
hat man should n ■ • ive m\ i long 

as the emm si should last. That is v. hat I said. _ If 
my colh ague knows of my having said anything 
to the contrary, he is at liberty to make the cor- 
rection. 

I may as well say now, that I was disposed to 

I nary irote in the House prefer- 

. and jusl as tainmg the 

strongest man as a caucus could be, with barred 

1 (. I uniformly di I we should as- 



has made 

Alter Mr. Dunn closed his remarks, 
Mr. SHERMAN said: Mr. Clerk, when I rose 
this morning :md stated that, in my judgment, 
the responsibility for the want of an organization 
of this House rested mainly upon those gentle- 
men who have been voting for Mr. Pennixgton, 
I did not anticipate that that remark would li ad 
to a general discussion by gentlemen upon all 
sides of the I louse. Sir, many opinions havi 
expressed with regard to where that responsibility 
re : d. The Administration party have ch urged 
it upon the anti-Nebraska men; those who I ■ ■■-. 
been voting for Mr. Fuller claim it rests upon 
both sides of the House; and the gentlemen with 
whom I vote have insisted that the only solu ion 
of our diificulty is the plurality rule, which we have 
repeatedly offered. I i xpr< ssi d the opinion — and 
I now entertain that opinion still more strongly — 
that those few gentlemen who have voted for \lr. 
BfeNNiNGTONfor some days | a I were responsible 
for the uon-organizi I i House. I did 1 

not impugn their motives. 1 did not attempt to 
read them out of any party. I only alleged the 
fact, that those ..—any three of whom 



might, for a Whole week, have organized this certain who had the i .rally 

House— were responsible for our inability to do upon him, and all I desired of n was, 

S0- if they sh< aid come to th 

And now, Mr. Clerk, let me examine the rea- the man, after a fair test, they should stand by 

sons which have 1 by the distinguished me. This was all that 1 1 kedofany ■. 

man from Indiana [Mr. Dunn] for the course the tv 

have pursued. I appeal to evei bcr was thrown upon me; yet the rotes given tor 

of this House whether, with the grave fact be- other anti-Nebraska candidates would not 

f oreu , Lzed centrate upon mv i amefor r< asonsth&n unki 

for six weekg, while they haw hi 'to to mi . but v hich 1 now fully undi rs and. On 

close the controversy by the el < Mr. Banks the night of the fourth day soi friends 



at any moment, these reasons are uotridi 
What are they? One was, that the friends of 
Mr; Banks d sired that when my colleague with- 
drew as a candidate that, the vote should not be 
concentrated upon Mr. Banks. Admit this to be 
true, and what of it? Is it not right and proper 
that the friends of a candidate who sincerely 



came to me, :>nA advised me that 1 ought to with- 
draw from th A my OV n judg- 
ment I yieldi d. M , ue [Mr. Sh | 
ofthem. I discovered I was about to be 
abandoned by some of those who had pi I 
next day, notwithstanding that 
1 had requested only at the outset that i should 



r> 



not be vol d for at all, unless I was to be sustained 
so long as I was in the lead of candidal s on one 
side, i therefore determined to Withdraw, and 
did withdraw from the canvass. 

Mr. SHERMAN. The remarks of my col- 
league, then, have sustained the ass irtion I made 
til, he, and indeed all the northern members of 
this body, whose opinions 'I :cid d the course of 
the anti-Nebraska members of this House, ad- 
vised against a mucus. 

Mr. CAMPBELL, (interrupting,) I wish to 
havi it dl nctlj understood thai an rem trks 1 
raay have made in opposition to a.eaucus were 
not predicated upon a personal desire, but upon 
the idea that perhaps a caucus might prove inju- 
rious to the interests at home of some of those 
who came here expecting to vote for an anti-Ne- 
braska candidate. 

Mr. SHERMAN. My colleague has stated 
the reasons why he thought it unadvisahJe to have 
s - They are satisfactory, and commended 

th ••■ el . ! to the good sense of many of the ablest 
members on this side. Nevertheless, the fact 
stands out, that all the candidates who were 
spoken of were, for reasons satisfactory to them- 
selves, opposed to a caucus. My friend before 
me, [Mr. Leiter,] who was one of the leaders 
of the democratic party in Ohio, was always 
decidedly in favor of a caucus, and insisted that 
discipline was necessary to sucei 

I allude to this merely for the purpose of dis- 
posing nf one of the reasons mentioned by the 
gentleman from Indiana, [Mr. Dunn,] for his 
ositionto Mr. Banks. All the candidates are 
. ion; and, whether there 

is any force in it or not, it ought not to be urged 
: against Mr. B wits. 
But, sir, the it) in from Indiana lias called 
thi a.) :i, i of t] i House to another fact, which 
I suppose, from the tenor of his remarks, is a 
reason for the course he has taken. The gi ntle- 
man from Massachusetts [Mr. Banks] voted on 
thi first vote for the gentleman from New York, 
[Mr. Wheeler.] Well, sir, until that gentl< man 
deuped his position on this floor ,i supposed they 
both stood upon the same platform. I supposed 
that they were both anti-Nebraska Democrats. 
But my friend from New York, [Mr. Whi:ei.er,] 
it seems, stands solitary v and alp h i a ttiona! 
Democratic platform of his own making; but 
when we came here, at the beginning of the ses- 
sion, i certainly recognized him as a candidate, 
o C , j ing precisely tin s irw position as the gen- 
tleman from M ts [Mr. Banks] does. 
l would have vol I i [Mr. Wheeler] with 
the ■ tie readinei s « i '■ which I vol ' 
gentlem va from Massachusetts; therefore th 
tlei i i ' a ' con- 
demn d for voting for a m i i v. I 
least, agreed with him in all n 

The gentleman from 
opposed the Nebraska hil!, and his course had 
been highly, i d bj 

stituents, ' Sine s lefined his po Ltion he 

has received no Republican vote. 

These are the only reasons that h ivi been given 
by the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. ' m] tha 
now oc ;ur to me. It is true*he that In 

has others, but when called uj on in ! faith to 
state them, so thai they may influen • ■ the 
of others, he tell? us that he pohsible to 



this House For his reasons or his votes. Well, 
sir, until he enlightens us we can only grope in 
the dark, and form our opinions of the conse- 
quences of his votes from the glimmering light he 
yields us. These opinions I, as a m nriber of this 
House, have a right to declare, and that, too, 
whether I am an " old soldier " ora " neophyte." 
And, sir, since I have been drawn into this dis- 
cus-don by simply stating a fact, which in my 
judgmsntrhas been in the minds and on the lips 
of thousands, I appeal to every member of this 
House to judge of the truth of th- fact I have 
; d, and v.!i 'ilea- the reasons that have been 
stated by the gentleman from Indiana can justify 
the grave consequences that have resulted from 
his course. Six weeks have been spent in futile 
efforts to elect a Speaker, civil war has been im- 
pending on our borders, and a breach of diplo- 
matic intercourse is threatened with Great Britain. 
Tie appropriation lulls and all the ordinary legis- 
lation of Congressare suspended. Tin; just hopes 
of the pe >ple have been disa] ind we are 

com i died to appeal to a defeated Administ -ation 
to adopt the plurality rule to avoid a difficulty- 
which, in my judgment, ought never to have 
arisen. 

While I have felt it my privilege and duty to 
speak thus frankly of the course pursued by the 
party to which the gentleman from Indiana be- 
longs ,*and to i imine the reason given 
hy we should abandon our candidate, 1 have 
ie i r impugned his motives, or attempted to read 
him out of any party. On the contrary, I have a 
high respect for his ability, and hope often tofol- 
low !. ml ts oh this door. I 
deeply regret thai In aow differs from the great 
body of his political friends in the selection of a 
:•' : alar. Yet truth and candor compel r»e I > 
'. . . that with all the rea ons that have been 
. t, and with all the £>ri< that are before the 
House,.the people of thig country j. North, South, 
. and West, will hold these anti-Nebraska 
men who have refused to v >te with us. wh a one 
hundred and seven members had concentrated 
i one man, and when three of them would 
have elected Air. Hanks Speaker of this House— 
1 say public opinion throughout the country will 
n po'nsibli for the delay in 
■.:'., <n of this i 1"' 
Mr. DUNN. Will the gentleman from Ohio 
permit m i to interrupt him? 
Mr. SHERMAN. Certainly. 
Mr. DUNN. The gentleman from Ohio is 
; that some gentlemen here 
; eenoi ecisely the same ground on 
the record as they have occupied before the coun- 
|r, and.th t that was one part of my reaso i 

'man from Massachusetts. 

[won ttlemen know that, whatever my 

-,- i ■ ■ leu .i matter which con- 

. i House, orv hieh the I bee- has a right 

I to ino'iii'- into, [am answerable tor them else-? 

. ! I will submit to no lectures here on 

it. Such was the whole tenor of my 

remarks on that point. 

Air. SHERMAN. H cannot be out of the re- 

■ '..■,.■. den, a few minutes 

inc ■. the gent! im a from 1 tdia la was about 

his remarks, and was intimating that he 

had reasoas for abandoning the gentleman from 

Massachusetts, which would Pave influence on 



tli.' members of the House; I rose in nu pla :e 
and desired him to state those reasoi s; and the 
gentleman Was permitted, by the courti sy of the 
. to so (in and state the n asons which 
prevented him from voting for Mr. 1)\s-k< 

Mr. DUNN, (interrupting.) The 
f o will all iw me to interrupt him. I >oes 

nol this I [ouse distinctly n collect thai to the 
gentleman there, [Mr. Mea bam,] and to th 
gentlem i here, [Mr. Sherman,] 1 again and 
• ! that I would make no cba i 

- ? Thai was well un li ood 
stated. No man could have mis- 
understood me. li was too plainly tal I. 

Mr. COMINS. Will the gentleman fromOhio 
allow me to stati 

Mr.SHERMAN. Not now. I ttate this, that j 
the i : ;tion of the gentleman from Vermont 
[Mr. Meach im 1 wouli gi n- 

tleman from Indiana [Mr. Dcnn] to take his 
s, al -. and that th n was withdraw n for 

the purpose of giving the g ntleman from Fm 
time and opportunity to reasons why la- 

did not vote for Mr. Banks; and when objection 
was withdrawn by the gentli man from Vermont, 
that the gentli man from Indiana might proceed 
to state the reasons why he holds this House 
^anized, he did proceed with his remarks, 
aad did si te reasons for nit voting for Mr. 
Banes. Thi sc reasons I have examined. 1 f he 
has ii"i stati d all, I have only to say, the 1 1 

.-, i irtunity — the friends of Mr. 

tre, and we I ave thi 

right to inf r that we have now all th it has pre- 

:d him, and those who vol with him, froi • 

uniting in the support of Mr. IJ.wks. 

I now proceed to but one point mure, and then 
It is this 

Mr. PENNINGTON, (interrupting.) Will 
the gentleman from Ohio yield t'> me a moment 
for tin of ad( ng to him an inquiry? 

Mr. Si ; ERMAN. I yield with plea 

Mr. PENNINt iT< IN. 1 w ish to know- of the 

gentleman from Ohio, whether I am to under- 

to me any responsibility 

whatever for the delay in the organization of the 

House? 

Mr. SHERMAN. Most certainly not. 

Mr. PENNINGTON. I think I should have 
a nice little entertainment if I were to attempt to 
put a e of my friend from Indiana, 

[Mr. Di mr.] 

Mr. SJ I ERMAN. I am far from imputing to 
■ ntleman fro n Ni w Ji rs -y any blam what- 
Every our must give him the highi si credit 
for his course here. I le has unifi d for 

Mr. Banes, whili t] jentlemen have been 

voting for him, [Mr. Pennington.]* Hen 
rub. 1' is upon no qui stain of prii i 
withhold their votes; and the man they have 
si lected of all other t in this i louse to fill that 

chair giv< s his gre >t Dame, hit l i 

and his v intly in favor of the 

gentleman from Mas tchus tts. Thi leader con- j 
demns his f. [lowers. 

but J .. ill pr to d now to a re 
myself, which has been drawn into I discus- 
sion by th.' gentleman from Indiana, [Mr. Dunn.] 



h has ' l on this floor— and Dei • 

jjapi i in th i tte in which 1 liv< I 1 

that th : 

mal district in < H i i, against my 
n ral Lindsley, « ■ '1" ; 

chief opposition to him made, on the ground that 
he voted thi ty : a VI r. Q» ■ tci did on 

the Pacific railroad bill. Now, 1 
to the Hoi 
wrong . ome, 

mi, I I dis- 

trict ..■ d : ■ tec ' mil ion, vt ich 

i adopted the rep 
a party m 
would en returned here without ! ■ 

jition from the ftepu! li san party, pn - 
his colleague [Mr. Ni< hols] has been. But, in- 
stead of this, he qui a in and 
allowi d : 

arse of this Admi 
He- wot L not pled mself to vote for the 

mri prohibition. I te oc- 
cupii d the ; taken by 

n Pi nnsylvania, [M r. Fi i i er,] 
in acqui icing in wh it he declared to b rong. 
( In this point alone, wah in party 

ts, we went I of my dis- 

ti ict, he then if the Ad 

of theRi publican party. In 
the canvass I gave him lit for his \ 

. , [ii i ] I themanner in 

he had d his duty in Congrei speak- 

of him evi rywhere with ki d 
illuding I h 

I, but basing my opposition to him on 
fai t that he was u i 
I ''■][, and on c 
the institution of to bi idi d north 

and vi soui i. I di clared that I i 

would submit to the extensipn of slaverj i 

Territory, if my vi ' Id prevent 

it; and 1 now say, before Cad and m\ country, 
that I never will. 

1 am no Abolitionist in the sense in which it is 
used. 1 bad always I" en a i i rvative 
Whig, until my i i bi rend 

ties that bound" us by aiding this \ ition 

in its attempt to i xtend slavery. A 
jority of e willing I dhcre to ail 

I ive roi ; they have bei n 

sham 

d upon them, t) i that, 

under no circumstanci 

. . Ldvs n from this breach of faith. 
Since my Whig bn tliren of that si ction I 

;. ad them from 
their duty, win n they abandon the pos 
Henry Clay would 

and prpud achii 

ban- 

1 ■ .. i not 

tn interrupl or disturb the h • hich 

■ .,-. That, v by thi las I : 

We 'in!'. re t'i demand jut 

to demand compliance with condi I will 

and good fi eling thai pi 
when the wrong of We 

ask no more, and we will submit to 



Printed at the Congressional Globe 



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011 89' 0I 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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